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Grand Companies of Eorzea
The Grand Companies of Eorzea, also know as simply Grand Companies, are a feature added on the 1.17 patch in Final Fantasy XIV and set for expansion on the following patches. It revolves around the three Companies of Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa, and Gridania, groups formed by the city-states in times of danger to form a cohesive command center in order to prepare for said threat. The Grand Companies reprise their role in A Realm Reborn as a gameplay element. In the original version, Companies follow their own quest chain system, offering seals that can be traded for items, unique equipment or to reach higher ranks inside the Company. Players cannot join all three companies, they must choose one and are 'locked' into it. However, they are only locked into a Company after the Recruit rank, which means that you can be a Recruit on all three Companies at the same time. In A Realm Reborn, players are invited to join a Grand Company after a certain point of the Main Scenario quests. Unlike in version 1.xx, there's no specific quest chain; instead players may perform Grand Company levequests, supply missions (deliver crafted gear), provisioning missions (deliver gathered materials), and at higher ranks Expert Delivery (donate rare equipment) to earn Grand Company seals. Promotions are earned by accumulating a certain amount of seals, with Captain currently the highest rank available to players. Story The Maelstrom At the heart of the Thalassocratic Navy lies the Lominsan Armada, composed of nine independent squadrons, the First through the Ninth. The Maelstrom is an extension of the First Squadron, expanding its role as armada flagship and granting it power to administer not only the remaining eight squadrons, but the various merchant fleets that navigate the seas off Vylbrand. With the reestablishment of the Maelstrom, the Admiral has also begun the move to invoke ancient maritime law, by which she would promote herself to Chief Admiral, effectively expanding her authority to cover not only state and military dealings, but grant her the power to directly command all ships in Lominsan waters, and freely punish any who disobey. Needless to say, the city-state's pirates are not about to take this encroachment on their freedom without a fight. The Maelstrom is led by Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn and Grand Storm Marshal Eynzahr Slafyrsyn. Adventurers may join the Foreign Levy, under High Storm Commander R'ashaht Rhiki. Maelstrom uniforms are distinguished by their deep red hue. The Order of the Twin Adder The Order of the Twin Adder establishes a medium from which the Seedseers can return from their wanderings deep within the Black Shroud and directly oversee not only the safety of Gridania's citizens, but the workings of the local guard, Both the Gods' Quiver, who defend the forest from external threats, and the Wood Wailers, who protect it from internal strife, have expressed their support of this temporary measure. There are, however, those within Gridania who would question the ability of the Seedseers, whose duties until now have been limited to various ritualistic proceedings, and doubt whether or not they are fit to lead a nation into war. The Order of the Twin Adder is led by Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna and Grand Serpent Marshal Swethryk Brookstone. Adventurers may join the Yellow Serpents, under High Serpent Commander Vorsaile Heuloix. Twin Adder uniforms are distinguished by their bright yellow pigment. The Immortal Flames Currently, the bulk of Ul'dah's military strength comes from their standing army of mercenaries and the small contingent of the palace guard known as the Sultansworn. To bring order to their ranks and oversee additional wartime training, the Sultana has considered resurrecting the Immortal Flames—an elite force of battle-hardened veterans that once instilled fear in the city-state's neighboring nations during ages past. This unit would act as a core aspect of the army, essentially bolstering its power, and in effect grant more authority to the Sultana and her advisers--something of which those in control of the city-state's economy—namely the Syndicate—are wary. The Immortal Flames Grand Company is led by Flame General Raubahn Aldynn and Grand Flame Marshal Eline Roaille. Adventurers may join the Free Brigade, under Commander Swift. Immortal Flame uniforms are distinguished by their charcoal grey palette. The Crystal Braves During the later events of A Realm Reborn, Alphinaud Leveilleur came to view the Grand Companies as inadequate for covering all the emerging threats to Eorzea. With the blessing of the City-State leaders, he created an independent Grand Company called the Crystal Braves answerable only to Minfilia Warde and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. This company was created to deal with problems too large for any one city-state to handle and cover the gaps between the existing Grand Companies; with their home base located in the settlement of Revenant's Toll. The Crystal Braves are led by Alphinaud and Grand Crystal Marshal Ilberd Feare. Unlike the other Grand Companies, adventurers cannot directly join the Crystal Braves or perform levequests and supply missions for them. Crystal Brave uniforms are distinguished by their ultramarine color. The Crystal Braves were later disbanded by Alphinaud following internal struggles, corruption, and events that occur just before Heavensward. Those still loyal to Alphinaud became part of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Company Seals Company seals are the main currency used to exchange for items from the Company Quartermaster, some of those unique to each company, as well to advance in company ranks. Initially, players can hold a max of 10,000 seals, but as they go up in ranks, they can hold a maximum of 80,000 seals. There are a number of ways to acquire grand company seals: *Company exclusive Guildleves grant seals as completion rewards. *Caravan Security grant seals upon completion, based on the group performance, up to 225 seals per run. (Version 1.xx only) *Provisioning and Supply missions - Every week, the companies will ask for specific items (generally high level crafting and gathering items) and offer seals per item traded. Each item has a server cap and can only be traded until said cap is reached. **''A Realm Reborn'' changes this to a daily quota request. *Regular sidequests related to the grand company reward seals upon completion, but cannot be repeated. *Participation in Full Active Time Events (FATEs) and Duty Roulette (low-level and guildhest only). *Expert delivery of rare equipment acquired from dungeons, trials, and certain end-game activities. *Certain forms of Duty Roulette Allied Seals A specific denomination pertaining to The Hunt, these are awarded to players that have successfully defeated the targets of daily mark bills or an Elite Mark found in Eorzea's wilderness. Allied Seals can be traded for items not available with Grand Company seals. Ranks Enlisted players can ascend ranks in their respective Grand Company. Each of the Grand Companies follows the same hierarchy of ranks, with a prefix to denote allegiance: Storm for Maelstrom, Serpent for the Order of the Twin Adder, and Flame for Immortal Flames. Players who have reached Second Lieutenant or higher are eligible to begin training Adventurer Squadrons. They are also eligible to request a transfer to another Grand Company. Gallery FFXIV Limsa Diagram.png|Maelstrom Political Diagram. FFXIV Gridania Diagram.png|The Order of the Twin Adder Political Diagram. FFXIV Uldah Diagram.png|The Immortal Flames Political Diagram. Company Leaders End of An Era.png|Kan-E Senna, Raubahn Aldynn and Merlwyb oversee the alliance's battle with the VIIth Legion. Company Leaders CG.png|The Company Leaders watch as Bahamut unleashes Megaflare. Maelstrom Banner + Art.png|The Maelstrom Artwork by Akihiko Yoshida. Twin Adder Banner + Art.png|Order of the Twin Adder Artwork by Akihiko Yoshida. Immortal Flames Banner + Art.png|The Immortal Flames Artwork by Akihiko Yoshida. Grand_Company_Salutes.jpg|3 different salutes of the 3 Grand Companies. The twin adder poster.jpg|The Order of the Twin Adders poster. FFXIV company leaders artwork.jpg|The Company Leaders in an artwork. Trivia *As of 2014, The Order of the Twin Adders is the most popular Grand Company of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, as 37% of the players are a member of the Twin Adders.http://imgur.com/a/pEzlr External links *Grand Companies page on the Lodestone. *Google docs spreadsheet with Supply and Provisioning item cycles. References pt-br:Grandes Companhias de Eorzea Category:Final Fantasy XIV Category:Grand Companies of Eorzea